This invention relates to plants for the continuous casting of metals, and more particularly to mold rocking devices for such plants.
Usually, mold rocking devices for continuous casting plants are very cumbersome and complicated.
Moreover, in known mold rocking devices, due to the complexity of the various parts of the said assemblies, it is very difficult to adjust the amplitude and/or the frequency of the oscillations imparted to the mold.
In addition to the above, in the known devices due to the excessive length of the transmission path transmitting the oscillations from the motor to the mold, elasticity and resonance phenomena take place, particularly at relatively high frequencies, in the range, for example, of 200 oscillations per minute, and more. The said phenomena make it practically impossible to assure a perfect stability of the oscillations at the said high frequencies, especially after a certain amount of wear has taken place in the joints and in the articulations of the said transmission path.
A purpose of the present invention is to obviate the above and other drawbacks of the known mold rocking devices for continuous casting plants, by providing a mold rocking device in which all the elements cooperating to provide an oscillatory motion to the mold, included therein the motor, are assembled on a fixed table, forming part of the frame of the continuous casting plant, which fixed table in turn supports and guides for reciprocating movement in a vertical plane, an oscillating table supporting the mold.
In the mold rocking device according to the invention, the motor, which may be an electrical or a fluid operated motor, drives one or more cranks transmitting the oscillatory motion to the oscillating table, through an adjustable lever transmission.
The above and other features and advantages of the present invention will be better evident from the following specification made with reference to the accompanying drawings.